Dispensing-cabinet



P. D. PARSONS.

DISPENSING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.1I,19I9.

'1 ,3 62,8 1 7 Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

UNITED STATE PATENT OFFICE.

EHILIP D. PARSONS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SCOTT PAPER COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

DISPENSING-CABINET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 21, 1920.

Application filed August 11, 1919. Serial No. 316,522.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PHILIP D. PARSONS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Dispensing- Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object the provision of a suitable cabinet for dispensing paper towels and other paper sheets in a positive manner, and which shall be simple and compact, being devoid of complicated parts or combinations liable to get out of order.

My invention is specially intended for dispensing folded sheets of paper, stacked one upon another within the cabinet and each having a flap which may fall by gravity when unsupported at the extreme bot tom of the stack of sheets, so that it may be engaged by a pivoted manually operated ejecting or discharging blade and its end forcibly ejected to the outside of the cabinet through a .slotted portion in its bottom, whereby said end thus exposed may be grasped and the lowermost sheet withdrawn, liberating the under flap of the next bottom sheet for a repetition of the operation when needed.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will be more fully understood from the description hereinafter, the invention consists in the novel construction of dispensing cabinets, as hereinafter more fully descrlbed and defined in the claims.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a vertical section through a dispensing cabinet embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the same; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the lower portion of the same; Fig. 4: is a vertical section corresponding to the lower part of Fig. 1, but showing the discharging mechanism in initial position; and Fig. 5 is a similar section to Fig. 1 with a somewhat modified construction of parts, but embodying the same general printhe top to close the top of the cabinet. A lock 8 may be provided to seal the cabinet when closed. The sides of the cabinet are inwardly flanged at 10 so as. to provide front guides for the stack of paper towels 20; and said guide flanges having a slotted space between them through which the stack of sheets may be grasped for removal or when being inserted.

The sides flanges 10, near their upper parts, are provided with nipples or raised portions 11 stamped upon them for acting as stops to limit the closing of the cover 3; and the side edges of the cover arefianged to fit over the sides of the body of the cabinet to seal the space between the cover and flanges 10, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower portion of the cover is provided with a glazed aperture 9 to permit a view of the interior so that it may be known when the sheets of the package or stack have become almost consumed.

The bottom of the cabinet has the front portion formed with an inclined plate 4 in Fig. 1 and 4 in Fig. 5, terminating in a transverse edge 15 over which the flap of the paper is bent, and said plate acting as a support for the front portion of the stack of sheets 20. The rear portion of the cabinet is provided with a shelf 7, Fig. 1, and 4 Fig. 5, extending forward nearly -to the middle and leaving a wide open space between it and the edge 15 through which the flap 21 of the paper may fall, and pass in front of the ejecting blade 12 when it is swung backward (Figs. 4 and 5). This open space constitutes a wide slot 6 which is open when the ejecting blade is in position shown in Fig. 4 and in dotted position of Fig. 5. In Fig. 1, the shelf 7 is horizontal whereas in Fig. 5 the corresponding shelf 4 is made somewhat oblique to tend to hold the sheets to the back of the cabinet and preventwithdrawal of the lowermost sheet without disturbance to the position of the remaining sheets.

12 is a pivoted ejecting lever, pivoted to the sides of the cabinet at 13 and having an upper ejecting blade portion 14 which, in operation, swings from the front edge of the shelf 7 to the rear edge 15 of the plate 4. The lower portion of this lever 12 is extended into a handle portion 16 for operating it and moreover it is so weighted that it normally assumes the osition shown in Fig. 1 and solid position silown in Fig. 5. This normal position leaves the slot 6 closed but normally, assume the closed position Figs. 1

and 5; and is provided with a stop projection 17 which may be covered with rubber 19 to avoid noise. The handle portion 16 is also provided with rubber cushions 18 at its sides to prevent noise when said portion strikes the cabinet.

In Figs. 1 and 4 I have provided a lower bottom plate 4 from rear of the cabinet to the axis of the ejector lever 12 to normally seal the cabinet between the shelf and lever when the parts are as in Fig. 1, but this has been omitted in Fig. 5 because the ejecting lever 12 is so shaped that it closes the space betweenits axis 13 and the shelf 4* at all times, which is a somewhat more satisfactory construction, especially so as the ejector lever may be made of bent sheet metal instead of a casting as in Fig. 1.

In the construction shown in Fig. 5 the ejecting lever 12 is bent from a single sheet of metal, the main part being V-shaped to provide the ejecting blade 14 of form to normally seal the slot 6 and the space between the axis 13 and forward edge of shelf 4 and also to seal the space between the axis 13 and forward edge of the shelf 4 when the ejector lever is moved to dotted position in the act of receiving the flap for ejection. It will also be seen that the ejector blade proper in Fig. 5 is more or less of a spring as to its attachment to the handle portion and when the latter is thrown up the free edge of the ejector plate 14 may strike the wired shoulder at the front edge of the shelf 4"' and relieve the blow or jar.

In operation, assuming the parts are as in Figs. 1 and 5, and the tab 21 is pulled to remove the lowermost sheet from the cabinet, the flap 21 of the next bottom towel sheet will be unsupported and fall by gravity until it rests over the ejector blade 14. If now, the handle part 16 of the ejector blade be given a forward and upward movement, the

blade 14 will pass from under the flap as shown in Fig. 4, and thereafter a release of the lever will permit the ejector blade to assume the positions of Figs. 1 and 5 by gravity, bending the end of the flap 21 into position to be grasped; The normal condition assumes the cabinet to be sealed and no flap projectin but having one in position ready to be pro ected, the moment the ejecting lever is oscillated.

It is manifest that instead of the ejecting lever being counterweighted, the use of springs may be employed as will be understood by mechanics, such springs being 1 11-- der ordinary conditions the mechanical equivalent for 'counterweig'hted parts. For simplicity, however, I prefer to dispense with springs or other auxiliary devices.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactoryand reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A dispensing cabinet consisting of a body providing a vertical passage for a stack of folded sheets of paper articles, said body having front and back supports for the articles providing a clear space at a lower level than the forward edge of the back support to permit a flap of the lowermost article to fall down and said front support forming a wide stop at the bottom of the said space, combined with a pivoted ejecting lever normally in position at which it has ejected a flap and having an ejecting blade of a length to swing from near the forward edge of the back support to the rear edge of the front support and having a lower hand operable part below the cabinet for operating it, whereby the operating edge of the ejecting blade is normally in a position to be movable from under the flap of the article to a position above it and thereafter eject and bend its free end over the rear edge of the front support.

2. The invention specified in claim 1, further having the pivoted ejecting blade of a length to just clear the rear edge of the front support and, further having the ejecting lever provided with a stop which arrests further movement when the blade has been brought into approximate alinement with the said rear edge of the front support.

3. The invention specified in claim 1, further having means to limit the extent of the swinging movement of the ejecting lever and rubber cushions therefor to take up jar and prevent noise.

4. The invention specified in claim 1, in which the ejecting lever is made of metal in V-form and in which one of the legs of the V-shaped metal acts as the ejecting blade and in which the V portion fits between the front edge of the rear support and rear edge of the front support when moved into each of the extreme positions of the oscillation of the said ejecting lever.

5. A dispensing cabinet consisting of a body providing avertical passage for a stack of folded sheets of paper articles, said body having a rear support at its bottom extending from the back approximately half way toward the front of the body and said body having at its front a rearwardly and downwardl extending support of the width of the ca inet and terminating at a lower level than the forward edge of the rear support, combined with a pivoted closure and ejecting device normally; self-positioning to close the opening at the ottom of the ca inet and having its ejecting portion positioned close to the rear and lower end of the front support, the said closure having an extension for hand mani ulation whereby it may be forcibly move to swlng the ejector end from a position near the rear of the front support to the front of the rear support to permit a flap of the lowermost article to fall and thereafter to automaticall swing backward to eject the free end of the fiap and assume a closure position to the bottom of the cabinet.

6. The invention according to claim 5; wherein the pivoted closure and ejector is gravity actuated in normally closing the entrance to the bottom of the cabinet and when ejecting the flap.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand.

PHILIP D. PARSONS. 

